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Why don’t mental training strategies work for me?
I tried some of the mental strategies for dealing with stress that I read on the web. However, they did not work very well for me. How come?
There are mental skills and strategies athletes use to deal with stress and enhance performance. These include such things as taking a deep “flushing” or centering breath after a mistake to slow things down and help regain composure, visualizing yourself successfully performing prior to executing a golf shot, utilizing a mental preparation routine (a standardized physical and mental way of preparing) before foul shooting, or focusing on positive versus negative thoughts. Sport psychology research has shown that all these strategies can be effective in helping manage stress and enhance performance. However, several important points must be remembered when using these strategies.The first thing to keep in mind is that while proven effective, these strategies require some practice before they can be mastered. For example, it is unlikely that taking a deep centering or flushing breath after a series of mistakes in the biggest game of the season will be powerful enough to help you deal with being nervous, unless you extensively have practiced this breathing skill in less stressful practice and game situations. After all, would you expect to hit a great serve or make a critical free-throw if you had not practiced these physical skills? Mental skills must be practiced just like physical skills. They are not miracle cures.
Second just like physical skills mental skills must be customized to each performer. For example, we know every athlete has his or her own optimal level of emotional energy that leads to best performance. So when using a relaxation technique an athlete must learn how to relax enough to not become uptight, but not so much that he or she is under aroused or emotionally flat. Similarly, while most athletes perform better when they focus on positive thoughts, a few don’t. They use negative thoughts to fire themselves up.
Finally, we must remember that mental skills training is not a replacement for physical practice or talent. For instance, research on imagery shows that imagery “combined” with physical practice is better than physical practice alone or no practice. Yet, mental practice alone has not been found to be as good as physical practice. Similarly, mental skills help athletes perform up to their potential. You can play at your best and still lose to a more talented opponent. Mental skills are not some kind of magic formula for allowing you to perform beyond your capabilities.
So before you give up on mental skills remember these guidelines and start a mental skills training program. Practice these skills on a regular basis. Use, evaluate and refine them in scrimmage and practice situations. Just like you physically weight train to get stronger, so too must you mentally train to maximize your head game!
Daniel Gould, Ph.D.
Director, Institute for the Study of Youth Sports
